Occasionally every cat owner has to take their beloved companion on
a trip. Usually this is to the vets, although there are plenty of other
possible destinations such as a new home or a cat show. Whatever the
destination, one problem is common to all trips – under usual circumstances
cats simply don't like cat baskets.

The great thing is that it doesn't have to be this way. In fact, you
can actually teach your cat to love the basket!

The Problem

The main part of the problem is negative association. You may have noticed
that cats don't actually mind being in confined spaces, and in fact most
cats seek out confined spaces to have a sleep or just hang out.

The problem with the cat basket is that it is where one is involuntarily
trapped for long periods of time and taken to generally unfamiliar places,
where they may be poked and prodded by strangers.

You can see how this would make the cat feel that the basket is a bad
thing, right? But trips are sometimes unavoidable, so what's a responsible
cat owner to do?

Simple – teach the cat that the carrier basket is a safe a friendly
place where they can feel comfortable as good things happen there.

You may think this is not as simple as it sounds, and I'll agree that
it may take some hard work, persistence and a bit of patience on your
part, but bear with me, it really is a straightforward process.

The following steps will show you how this fantastic situation can be
created with almost any cat.

Step 1 – Use The Best Type of Cat Carrier Basket

Unsurprisingly, in this context the
best type of cat carrier basket is not the one that costs the most or has the snazziest colour scheme;
what I mean by ‘the
best' is the type that is easiest for a cat to learn to love.

The most common type of carrier baskets are the front opening plastic
ones such as the Voyager
200, but these are definitely not ‘the best'
in this context!

Don't get me wrong, they are fine in the general sense. They are sturdy
and offer a nice amount of outward visibility whilst keeping the cat
nicely hidden. Cats that are used to travelling in them actually tend
to like them a lot.

The problem is that front openers are difficult to get a resistant cat
into. This leads to a struggle, which makes the cat feel trapped and
out of control and makes the cat think of the basket as a punishment;
clearly a counterproductive situation.

I used front openers for many years, unaware of any real alternatives,
but in 2005 I was asked to take my friend’s cat for a routine appointment
with the vet.

She had one of those large,
top opening wire frame cat carriers, of the type
we now sell in our online shop. I
had seen these before but had never used one myself, and it turned out
to be somewhat of a revelation. These large top opening carriers have
such a wide opening that most cats can barely touch any two opposing
sides at once, so struggling is not really an option!

Getting my friends cat into the basket was easy and to my delight
didn’t involve any stress at all. The fact that he didn’t
seem to mind was almost incidental, there was little he could have done if
he had minded!

Removing this wrestling match has been the single biggest help in training
my cats to love the basket. Sure, I've done other things to help the
cats build a positive viewpoint (as detailed below), but removing the
struggle to get them into it removed a lot of the problem almost instantly.

Step 2 - Desensitise

The aim of this step is to remove the negative associations they have
built up, and to show them that being around the cat basket has no significance
at all.

The first thing to do is to desensitise the cat to the presence basket.
This starts with giving the carrier a thorough clean to remove any smells
and then leaving the carrier around the house at all times with the door
wide open. (Note:Never use bleach or strong smelling chemicals to clean your
cat carrier!)

Allow the cat to ignore or investigate as it sees fit, just don't make
a big deal out of it.

Silently observe your cat's reactions and interactions to the basket.
Maybe pick it up a few times and move it somewhere else, see if they
get nervous. If they seem nervous around the basket then stick with this
stage for a while longer.

After a few days (possibly a few weeks if a really strong negative association
has built up) you should find that the cat is at worst indifferent to
the basket, but possibly has now developed some level of interest.

With persistence they will eventually know that the basket is no threat,
even when it's being moved. Don't rush to the next step, make sure the
cat is as desensitised as it's going to get.

Step 3 – Positive Association

The aim with this step is to show that, far from negative things happening
in and around the basket, most of the time good things happen when they
interact with it. To put is succinctly, this means making the cat associate
the basket with something they already like, such as toys, food or sleep.

Once the previous step has been completed and any negative association
has been removed, or at least lessened as much as possible, you can start
to create a positive association much more effectively.

Assuming you have a top opener, you will need to place the basket on
its side, so that the opened lid lays flat to the ground, like a doorstep
or porch.

Food - Begin by putting some highly desirable food in the
entrance of carrier, something like chicken or tuna usually works well.
If possible try to make sure the cat is in the area and is aware that
you are putting something in the basket, but again, don't make a big
deal out of it. If they ignore it, be patient and just keep trying.

To start with leave the food on the porch so they can get to it without actually
having to get inside the basket. Gradually move the food further inside until
it is at the back and they have to show a little courage if they want the
treat.

Toys – Try
putting some toys in there, again start leaving the right in the doorway.
Purr Mice were good for our cats because they got so distracted paffing them
about that that they quickly got into the game and ignored where they were.

Ping pong balls are also good, especially in the front openers because
with a good ‘Paff' from the cat they will go flying about and as with
the mice the cat will quickly be more interested in the ball than in
the carrier.

Sleep – At other times, possibly after some success with
the other two temptations, line the carrier with some nice soft bedding
(Vetbeds are ideal for this) and leave it in some out of the way nook
that offers invisibility for the cat, whilst also offering a good view
of the surrounding area.

(We have a whole article about training your cat to love the cat bed.
The methods in that article can also be applied to getting the cat to
sleep in the carrier voluntarily once you have successfully removed the
negative associations.)

In general, the principle is to try to make good things happen when
the cat has an interaction with the carrier. I'm sure you can think of
some examples that would work in your own home that are not mentioned
here.

Step 4 - Further positive association

The aim of this step is to take the positive association even stronger
whilst removing all the novelty of the interacting with the basket.

If you've already managed to get the cat to eat inside the carrier then
make sure you always feed the cat in the carrier for a while.

If the cat hasn't eaten inside yet, start putting the carrier nearer
and nearer to the food at feeding time, until they are so used to it
that you can actually put the food inside the doorway, and eventually
at the back of the carrier.

Step 5 – Shutting the door

The aim of this step is to show them that being shut in the carrier
doesn't mean being shut in for a long time and it doesn't mean they are
going anywhere either.

From this stage onward, lots of praise when they go into the basket
and more praise when they come out will help to strengthen the positive
association in the face of potential stress.

Once the cat is comfortable eating inside the carrier, try pushing the
door closed while they are eating. Don't lock it at this stage and if
the cat becomes distressed or agitated open the door immediately and
reassure them.

Once you can do this without a problem you can begin to lock the door.
Start with just a minute or two, and if the cat becomes distressed open
the door immediately.

After a few days you should find that you can leave the door shut for
several minutes without too much complaint from the cat.

Step 6 – Getting them used to the car

Once the cat is happy enough to be inside the carrier for 10 minutes
or more you are ready to try taking them out for a drive. The aim with
this step is to show them that going in the car doesn't mean going anywhere
in particular - specifically it doesn't mean going to the vet.

The handles on many baskets are movable,
so you should be able to attach the handle to the side that is now facing
upwards and shouldn't have to re-orientate the basket with the cat inside.

If your basket does not have movable handles, string can be used to
make a secure handle that will serve the purpose until this training
is complete. Be sure to make your handle secure – the last thing you
need is for the handle to break and the cat to have a bad experience
after all your hard work!

Line the bottom of basket with something absorbent (such as newspaper)
in case of any accidents, and on top of that put something warm and soft
(such as a towel, a fleece
blanket or Vetbed).

Encourage the cat into the basket, or put them inside yourself if they
don't struggle. If this is difficult then you may benefit from sticking
with the previous two steps for a while longer. Don't use Purr or Catnip
for encouragement at this stage as it can excite them, and increased
excitement increases the potential for stress.

Put the basket securely on one of the car seats. The exact seat in the
car is less important than making sure that the basket is sat on a pillow
to reduce vibration and seat belted in so that it doesn't go sliding
off. Also, make sure that little if any direct sunlight gets into the
basket; this could be very unpleasant for the cat and may undo some of
your hard work.

You may also want to cover the basket with something to reduce the cat's
visibility. Make sure the cover is light so the cat doesn't overheat
and if the cat starts panting remove the cover immediately.

Go for a drive that lasts considerably less time than the cat's shortest
comfortable time in the basket so far. Even driving 200 yards up and
down the road will be fine for the first trip.

Every day for the next week and regularly after that take the cat out
for a longer drive, eventually going out in the cat basket with be no
stress at all. If the cat seems to get too stressed, then feel free to
go back a step or two and come back to this part later.

Continue building positive associations and in no time you will find
that you have actually trained your cat to love the carrier basket!

Step 7 - If the cat just will not go into the carrier voluntarily …

If you have a top opening wire frame basket, and you've followed all
the steps carefully, and you've repeated previous steps when something
hasn't worked well, then contacting your vet is the next step to take.

The vet should be able to rule out or solve any medical reasons for
the problem and will be able to recommend a good cat psychologist for
one-to-one training. I'm confident in saying that any cat can learn to
love the basket; it's just a matter of patience, persistence and the
right approach.

In Conclusion

I hope you have found these instructions useful and you can take the
stress out of journeys for both you ant the cat.